This little passion project was an idea that had been floating in the back of my mind for too long, and this summer it finally came to fruition. Tending to a bountiful garden has always offered a certain level of calming therapy along with a sense of accomplishment in the end. This year I wanted to add a little more color and fun to the garden by converting a Radio Flyer wagon into a mobile jalapeño pepper garden!
The main functional advantage with this creation is having the ability to move the peppers to either more or less sunny locations depending on how the plants are growing. The ultimate goal is to convert it into a "smart" pepper garden with soil moisture and photovoltaic sensors connected to and Arduino board so automatic watering can be accomplished. Unfortunately due to a lack finances/time this past season I was unable to obtain all of the sensors in time, but still managed to get the wagon built and ready for a "control" test run this summer. The full Garduino Pepper Wagon is coming Spring 2020!!
After finding the Radio Flyer wagon on Craigslist for $40, I spent anther $20 on redwood boards from Home Depot and an additional $40 on plants and soil. I wanted the plants to have deep enough soil to grow big and tall, so I stacked two 6" boards on top one another giving the wagon a total depth of 16" once finished. Redwood was chosen for longevity and beautiful color. Eight separate 3/4" holes were drilled in the bottom to allow proper draining of the soil, and screws were used instead of nails to help prevent swelling of the boards from when they get wet.
